The invention described herein generally relates to devices and systems governing the opening and closing of receptacles. More particularly, the present invention is an improvement to pedal activated trash receptacles.
In many business and fast food restaurants, customers are provided with trash receptacles having a swinging door hinged across the top. It is often difficult to dispose of trash through the swinging door, since the door often tends to swing down against the trash and thereby prevent it from being easily dumped into the receptacle. It is generally a two-hand operation, one for holding the door open and the other for dumping the trash into the receptacle. A customer carrying a child, briefcase or the like therefore has a very difficult time assisting the establishment in disposing of trash. Equally important, the return swing of an open receptacle door may have sufficient force to, if the customer is caught off guard, either injure the fingers or hand of the customer or cause some of the trash to be spilled upon the customer or the premises. It should also be noted that a customer's use of his or her hands to push trash through receptacle door may be extremely unsanitary. Often the customer feels compelled to wash his or her hand at the conclusion of the meal, due to the touching of the trash receptacle.
Various types of door openers are known, but all have certain limitations. The following patented receptacles are known in the art.
Patent Number Inventor 5,147,056 Ma 5,372,271 Miller, et al. 4,765,548 Sing 5,048,712 Wolters 5,163,574 Sosan 3,799,430 Huguenin 4,907,715 Bloomer 5,398,374 Betancourt 5,172,823 Moetteli 5,011,026 Hausman 4,609,122 Ziegenbein 4,729,490 Ziegenbein 3,891,115 Ono 5,538,338 Biggers 4,150,764 Anderson
The receptacle disclosed in Miller is complicated to manufacture and assemble, and it is not readily adaptable for the retrofitting of existing receptacles. The receptacle disclosed in Ma is somewhat less complicated to manufacture and assemble, but it fails to disclose any means facilitating the gradual return of the open door to its closed position. Biggers discloses a receptacle having a stoop mechanism to prevent the lid from pivoting outwardly from the receptacle cabinet, but without any means facilitating the gradual return of the open door to its closed position. Ziegenbein discloses a receptacle having a time delay switch allowing the door to return to its closed position after a pre-selected time interval. However, the mechanism for such delayed return is extremely complicated, and it usually requires an electrical power source for activation which is not always available by receptacles and would be costly to install and operate. Although the Ziegenbein receptacle provides for delayed closure of the receptacle door, it fails to allow for the gradual return of the receptacle door to its closed resting position. It is also too complex and costly for retrofitting existing receptacles.
There is known a foot-actuated top-opening receptacle sold under the trademark Mipro, (probably made by the White Mipro company in Tampa, Fla.) that includes a gas spring to control the closing of the lid. However, there are substantial differences between that receptacle and the invention disclosed herein. For instance, both the manner of actuating the opening and the manner of controlling the closing are distinctly different in both receptacles. The Mipro receptacle has an externally mounted lever system, with the lid essentially being pushed upward into the open position by the lever, and with the gas spring being attached at opposite ends to both the lid and the push-lever to control the closing; this configuration has the disadvantages of having exposed external parts that form possible "pinch points" that could injure children or unwary adults, and the exposed parts are not as aesthetically pleasing as the relatively clean appearance of internally actuated receptacles. Moreover, there is no information known as to the date of invention of the Mipro receptacle.